Tim Grobaty: Bixby Knoll's First Friday!

KNOLLS AWARENESS: Rocktober is Arts Month in Long Beach. Nationally, it's also Clergy Appreciation Month, Filipino American History Month, Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender History Month, National Cyber Security Awareness Month, Auto Battery Safety Month and National Squirrel Awareness Month. We need more months for all these months. Either that or tone down our hyperawareness of things.

Let's stick to arts for our opening item this week: First Fridays in Bixby Knolls is paying particular attention to arts this evening, showcasing local painters, photographers, musicians and writers along the uptown stretch of Atlantic Avenue.

Virtually all the businesses from Carson Street to San Antonio Drive participate in the monthly Bixby Knolls awareness bash. Here are five fun activities we've selected for you tonight:

1. See and hear the fabulous Sea Funk Brass Band at Aura Thai, 4085 Atlantic Ave.

3. See a live sword-fight show at 6:30 p.m. at the Goad Theater, 4250 Atlantic Ave.

4. Celebrate the 131st birthday of the Knolls Ranger at Oh Very Young, 4378 Atlantic Ave.

5. Groove on about a dozen classic cars from the Sultans Car Club at Melinda McCoy's Flowers (611 E. Carson St.).

BLESS THE ANIMALS: An alpaca, a donkey and a pot-bellied pig walk into a bar. Inside, sitting on stools, there's a Catholic priest, a Lutheran pastor and a Universal Life reverend. The pot-bellied pig hops up on a stool, orders an old-fashioned and then sneezes.

"Bless you," say all the clergypeople. We didn't say it was going to be a joke.

And so it goes for the 11th year as more than 300 animals, including those we just mentioned, will be blessed by various people of the cloth, including those we just mentioned, in Saturday's Interfaith Blessing of the Animals at 6 p.m. on the beach at the foot of Granada Avenue in Belmont Shore.

Bring your pet to the free event to join the procession of some 300 animals down a 100-foot red carpet to be blessed by as many of the clergy members as you want - it's always wise to hedge your bets.

The blessing is hosted by - we hope you're sitting down - Justin Rudd's nonprofit Community Action Team.

St. Pancratius Parish in Lakewood is also having a Blessing of the Animals on Saturday in honor of the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals. The blessings begin at 9 a.m. at 3519 St. Pancratius Place, on the sports field behind the school.

Animals need to be on leashes or in carriers. Animals that bite or could cause any danger to those in attendance should not be brought. Get more information at 562-634-6111 or stpanrectory@sbcglobal.net.

BIG SHIP OF HORRORS: It's not bad enough that there are real ghosts on the Queen Mary. This time of year, they ship in about 250 more of them, plus various monsters, creatures and other sundry horrors for the annual Queen Mary's Dark Harbor freakfest aboard and around the ship.

This year's event begins tonight and continues through Sunday. Additional nights of terror are Oct. 12-14, 18-21, 25-28, and Halloween night, Oct. 31. Times for all are 7 p.m. till midnight.

Tickets at the gate are $29 to $44 depending on the day. Online sales are $26 to $41 on the day of the event, and $24 to $39 if you buy them at least 24 hours in advance. Go to www.queenmary.com.

FRIDAY PLAYLIST: It's marathon weekend in Long Beach, one of our favorite weekends of them all. We start with a huge carbo load dinner with lots of beer ... and that's about it. Maybe listen to a tune or two while we're sleeping off the carbos.